Detachable and resilient heel



G. W. OTTERSON Sept 15, 1925. 1,553,466

DBTACHABLE ARD RESILIENT HEEL Filed Sept. 12. 1922 mm 7 If llmllllllll lllll|||||||||||,

Inventor Patented Sept. 15, 1925.

UNITED STATES GERALD w. orrEaso1v, OFYWELLINGTON, NEW. ZEALAND.

nE'rAoHABLE AND assistant Hear.

Application fil'ed s'e ptmbel 12, 1922. Serial N0. 587,686.

I T 0 all w h'om'it may concern.

OTTECRSO'N, a subject of the King of Great. Britain and Ireland, residing in elling-- ton, New Zealand, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Detachable and Resilient Heels; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the same.

My invention relates to rubber heels for boots, shoes and other footwear.

The objectof the invention is to provide a heel that may be readily attached and detached and that may be transferred from one boot to the other, as wear takes place, and also to provide a heel that will give the maximum resiliency and will be simple and cheap in construction.

According to the present invention the body of the heel is moulded from rubber and provided with a hollow air space in the upper portion of the heel open at the top and adapted to be detached and replaced in position by means of a metal or other plate which is secured to the underside of the boot by suitable means, and such plate is provided with a suitable undercut portion or projection upon its edge upon which the heel is held.

The upper surface of the heel body which fits upon the sole is shaped or curved so as to correspond with the contour of the sole. A well or recess is formed in the body and is open at the upper surface of the heel body and such recess extends below a portion of the upper surface at the front and rear ends of the heel body so as to form shoulders or bevelled surfaces beneath which the undercut portions or projections on the plate may engage in order that the heel body may be held in position.

When the heel is placed in position, one end of the heel is placed so that the undercut portions or projections at one end of the plate will engage beneath one of the shoulders. The other end of the heel is then stretched and the other shoulder forced over the projections on the other end of the plate and the heel is then in position. The recess in the heel forms a pneumatic cushion.

The heel is preferably made of soft vulcanized rubber but may be moulded of rubber of any desired hardness.

The tread portion is sufliciently thick to enable wear to take place, and by making the recess larger or smaller, different degrees of resiliency may-be obtained as may be desired. Since the heels are detachable they will fit either boot, and they may be transferred from one boot to the other when wear takes place, thus doubling the life of the heel.

The invention will be described with the aid of the accompanying drawings, where- 1n Figure 1, is a plan of the bottom of a sole showing a plate fixed in position.

Figure 2, is a. perspective view of the plate in Figure 1.

Figure 3, is a longitudinal section on line A-A, Figure 1, showing the heel in position.

Figure 4, is a plan of the heel removed.

According to Figures 1 to 4 inclusive, the plate is in the form of a U-shaped frame joined at its front end by a cross member 11, and it will be seen that such frame conforms approximately to the contour of the outer edge of the heel at a suitable distance therefrom. This frame 10 is fixed to the sole by screws 12 passing through lugs 13 as shown in Figures 1 and 2. The rear of the frame along its curved portion is undercut with a bevelled surface 14 to the extent indicated by the dotted lines in Figure l. The bevelled surface is also shown in Figures 2 and 3. The angle of the undercut portion gradually becomes less towards the sides of the frame, and such sides become vertical towards the front end of the frame as at 18. The air space 2 of the heel is made with its inner walls corresponding to the contour of the edge of the frame 10, the rear portion curved and provided with a bevelled undercut surface 15 to fit upon the bevelled surface 14 of the frame. Upon the front of the frame at each end thereof are projections 16, the surfaces 19 of which are bevelled as shown (see Figure 2). These projections fit into similarly shaped recesses 17 in the front portion of the heel (see Figures 3 and 4). To insert the heel in position the surface 15 of the heel is placed over the bevelled surface 14 of the frame 10 and the front end of the heel is then stretched forward so that the projections 16 will engage within the recesses 17 of the heel. By making the plate in the form of a frame, such frame may be easily secured to the sole even although such sole has a curved or uneven surface.

What I claim is A detachable cushion heel, comprising a body part, containing an open air well extending nearly the full depth of said body part, the opening of said Well conforming to the outer contour of the said body part at a slight distance from the outer edge thereof, an undercut surface being provided at the rear edge of said Well gradually approaching the vertical at the front edge of said Well, the front Wall of said well being provided with spaced recesses and a. frame adapted to be 10 fixed to the sole portion of a boot or shoe,

and having a sloping portion at its rear edge changing to the vertical upon the sides of said plate, thereby conforming With the undercut surfaces of said Well, spaced projections extending from the front edge of said plate to enter said recesses in the front edge of said air Well.

In testimony whereof, I have signed my name to this specification.

GERALD W. OTTERSON. 

